Brahms, Symphony No.2 in D major, op.73

Brahms's sunny Second Symphony is as warm and lyrical as his First had beenstormy and dramatic. It quite possibly reflects the idyllic nature aroundLake Wörth in Austria, where Brahms composed it in the summer of 1877.Brahms himself, however, called attention to the melancholy current thatundermines the pastoral serenity ("You've never heard anything as world-weary as this", he wrote to his friend Schubring). Despite the apparentsimplicity of the symphonic writing, the work is strengthened and enrichedby many thematic threads that run from one movement to another. It has beena special favorite among music lovers since its premiere in Vienna on 30December 1877. The celebrated 19th-century music critic Eduard Hanslickwrote that it was for "all who long for good music, whether they understandits complexity or not".Karl Böhm leads the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in a live recording madeat the "Grosser Musikvereinssaal" in Vienna.